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Topic: Small Animal News (Read 66262 times)

Quite simply, it isn't Mikey's people or those who Tuan Tuan finds agreeable.

From Tuan Tuan: "It's hard to understand the way domesticated[1] pandas think."

[1] Zoo-raised, coddled, trainer-fed

From Mikey: "..."

Officially, the older, domesticated Pandas felt that the smaller, younger animals had deviated from their preferred purpose, so they wanted to distance themselves from them, basically offload the management of the younger animals to another gang. They requested bids from other gangs, and felt Cat P's gang provided the best case (in their opinion).

---

No, it's real. Small animals aren't even talking of it much anymore, everyone assumes they'll be dead [within a few years].

From Samantha - "There's no way they can dig their way out of this one. All the shortfalls, all the different [house cats] they own money too, all the internal and external conflicts... It's amazing we're fighting them today![1]"

[1] as in, it's amazing they're still around today for us to fight.

---

I do believe so, at least according to the reports.

"I think you can refer to [it] as [cat] W's last stand. That perverted old cat... everyone knows his days are numbered, so he's just doing whatever he damn well pleases now. And I must say, his 'taste' in bunnies is... unusual. She might have gained his fancy but, she's really not too popular among bunnies, guinea pigs, or other small animals."

---

Over the last week, there have been repeated incidents where the cat gang's territory has been infiltrated and/or penetrated by teams of rats.

"Normally the cats are quick to respond and able to fight off any rats that attempt to invade. In the past, small animals have relied on dogs, ferrets, or the black bunny squad when making a prolonged invasion into the territory of the neighborhood cat gang. But with gang affairs in such disarray, local rats have seen a window of opportunity and risen up, launching their own invasions. When they do, the cats can barely respond, it often takes days before an invasion can be met with force. And by then, it is already too late, the rats have done their damage by gnawing away at things and such."

---

I wouldn't count on it.At the end of the day, we all know they will do some kind of face-saving exercise like a few days after putting it up, take it down and say it has been cancelled due to 'lack of interest'.

About a day after 'the incident' described in post #131, Cat P became despondent. He had already given the order to halt all diplomatic contact with any small animals or small-animal affiliated groups, but following 'the incident' his vanguard became extremely aggressive toward small animals and in trying to root out any small-animal sympathizers that were within the gang.

It doesn't help that their headquarters has suffered from several rat attacks in the last couple of days.

From Samantha:"The rats have been attacking their computers and IT with rabid[1] efficiency. As of today they are reduced to one functional fixed system and two portable systems. Their internet access is down, they are having to go to a nearby starbucks and use the free wi-fi in order to stay connected."

"Several tens of rats have perished in these daring attacks, but the force of rats is growing in size significantly due to a large number of new volunteers."

[1] at a high level, brutal

Information is sketchy, but it has been reported that several cats in Cat P's faction have been disabled or perished at the hands of the Black Bunny Squad. According to Samantha, the squad isn't operating under contract from the Bunny Brigade, but some anonymous source has been placing carrot bounties on the heads of the heads of certain cats.

I honestly don't know the state of the revolutionary faction now. They are probably just laying low and keeping to themselves -- knowing that they become stronger every time a cat from the loyalist faction or under Cat P's command is disabled or perishes. I don't expect they will sit around forever, my suspicion is that they are simply waiting for the best or most advantageous moment to attack.

So my best recommendation is just to hang tight and stay safe, that's all I can really say right now. We'll try to figure something out in the next week.

---

A short while ago, a diplomatic party led by Cat P was attacked by cats believed to belong to the 'X' gang, cat K's sworn enemy.

"Cat P was ready to pledge his loyalty to the X gang, but things went south very quickly. Things escalated to violence, and Cat P ordered his bodyguards to cover their retreat. His bodyguards fought till the very end, and Cat P and Cat T, his trusted cohort, were able to make it to the western garrison. But when they saw a force of cats approaching their position, at least three times in number, they fled and retreated all the way to Cat F's house."

"With so many cats from the mysterious 'X' gang on the field, the neighborhood cat gang has all but surrendered its western quadrant."

"Cat K's response remains to be seen. Now is his opportunity to meet his mysterious and hated enemy on the battlefield. Will he risk it all, raising his own forces and engaging the attackers? Or will he be content to pull back and put the fight on hold, 'live to fight another day'."

A few days ago, Cat K's plan to have Cat P be absorbed into the X gang failed, when the X gang became hostile and attacked Cat P and his entourage.

Cat P and his cohort made it to the western garrison, but when they saw large numbers of enemy cats appear, they retreated to Cat F's house to make their stand. The X gang took no heed, perhaps unaware, they looked like they were going to simply overrun her house and push farther into neighborhood cat gang territory.

Cat P ordered his troops to go up to the second floor balcony of his owners house and throw things down on the enemy formations as they passed by the house. Fortunately Cat F's owner was not there to stop them, and they dropped numerous objects onto the advancing formations including a sofa, television, desk, and a number of chairs and even a bed on their formation before the enemy realized what was going on and turned to attack. A couple dozen cats had been outright squished or injured by the falling objects, but it barely made a dent in the X gang's numbers and their attack was methodical and overwhelming.

Cat's from the X gang broke a few windows and began to pile in, but the troops fought off their initial attempts and kept them from advancing past the dining room. This defense worked well until some cats from the X gang, which now had the house surrounded, broke a back window and the defenders had to retreat upstairs to avoid being flanked and sandwiched between the two groups of invaders.

Cat T led the stairways defense, flanked by Cat F and Cat C. The cats fought valiantly, using their higher position to the advantage, losing only a single cat for ever several or so enemy that fell. If this had been all, they might have been able to hold off the assault, but the enemy pushed relentlessly, forcing the defenders back and they then retreated into Cat F's room.

---

Actually, we're almost certain it is him (Cat P) in the photo. As for "He's fatter than that", it's one of those cases where he's so fat, that the camera actually makes him look less fat than the really is.

As a comment, it is rather typical behavior for Cat P, drinking and partying his @$$ off while his underlings were hard at work trying to keep the gang from sliding downhill any farther than it already has.

---

Yes, as far as I can tell, there are a few more. On VO, look at the thread "Anime Expo 2012" and then look at post #70. The cat posting there says there will be more changes even after the latest one. Go figure.

---

(Continued from first part)

As Cats T, F, and C prepared to make their last stand in Cat F's room, with what remained of the western garrison, the cats from the X gang took a minute to regroup and prepare to take down the door to Cat F's room (which she had locked). Cat T wanted to risk a retreat, thinking they still had a chance to escape by leaping to the neighbor's roof, but Cat F insisted on staying in order to defend her valuable figure collection. Cat C was alternating between panic and despair, and the other surviving three cats had no idea who to listen to. Meanwhile, Cat P kept his position at the rear of the group, trying to hide behind his cohort, Cat T.

As cats from the X gang started clawing away at the door to Cat F's room, Cat P got an idea. He asked one of the remaining cats from the western garrison if they had ever set up the hurler[1] he had sent. One of the cats responded that they had set it up in an old park next to the garrison spot, but had given up using it due to its unsafe nature and unreliability. Cat P described his plan to the group -- when the door was getting close to destroyed, they would retreat out the bedroom window. But rather than retreating deeper into their territory, they would instead make a run for the western garrison spot whee the hurler had been set up. Hopefully it would take a while before the X gang's goons figured out what as going on, and they would have enough time to load up the hurler and fire each one of them to safety.

Hearing the scratching on the door, and looking outside at the mass encirclement, the cats felt his plan was their best shot at survival. In the next five minutes, Cat T and Cat P whispered back and forth, and Cat F collected a few of her best figures from her figure collection, leaving the boxes behind. Cat C was in full panic mode, but some of the cats from the western garrison kept her calm enough to stop her her from running off.

In a few minutes, light started to shine through small gashes in the door, and Cat P ordered the retreat. After opening the window, the cats clawed down the screen and leapt out. Cat P was first, followed by the rest in his wake. He (Cat P) mistimed the jump, coming up just short of the encirclement, but being far heavier than normal, the cats he landed on were crushed underfoot. The rest of the crew landed far ahead of the encirclement, and then all the cats began the mad dash to the location where the hurler was set up.

Cat P was in the rear, and was lagging farther behind. He tried to order the other cats to fall back in order to protect him, but none of them listened. It hadn't taken the X gang long to figure out what was going on, and a mob of cats started chasing them, slowly gaining on the group.

[1] A catapult used for "rapid kitty deployment" during the past budget crunch (see earlier posts).

As the mob of cats gained on Cat P and overtook him, none of the cats even looked back. Even his cohort had run ahead, and the mob had slowed their advance once they caught Cat P. They reached the point where the hurler was and most of the cats took a look at the ominous device, having second thoughts but also realizing the mob that had been chasing them was nowhere to be found and perhaps had given up the chase? Or figured it was a diversion and turned back to push farther into their territory? Or they had taken all they had come for? The cats didn't spend much longer thinking about these things, they agreed among themselves that they would split up and meet back at their gang's headquarters by midnight, if there still has a headquarters, that is (if not, they would go their own way).

The morning of the next day, the cats all made it back to the base and in the morning, they all noticed Cat P sitting in his office looking at himself in the mirror and purring repeately as if nothing had happened. As word of the misadventure spread, the cats began to ask questions but Cat P denied the whole thing had happened. It quickly turned to accusations, not how did he escape the feared X gang, but who or what did he give up in exchange for his freedom.

A cat was sent to scout out the western quadrant where the garrison had once been, but he never returned.

---

Yes, it will be posted eventually. But things are still changing right now, and we still have no idea how it's going to turn out in the end. So I'm just waiting and making sure we get the story right. There's a chance this will be over in about a week, or less, but there's just no telling right now, impossible to predict.

---

I WILL NOT be there on Friday. Info and support doesn't arrive until Friday night, and without that, I'm not going in. I will be there starting early Saturday morning and Sunday and Monday too. Because I actually have stuff to do on Saturday and Sunday, and by Monday we will hopefully be celebrating, hopefully...

Cat N is currently unavailable due to problems with her owner. She isn't expected to be available for a few weeks. From Mikey, "And there was much rejoicing...(!)" [1]

I will be at the dinner on Saturday but do not ask me where or when. If you have to ask, you are not welcome or invited.

[1] "monty python" reference

---

The western garrison had been decimated, both displaced and down to only several cats. While Cat P denied the whole incident had ever happened, for most of the cats, it was plain to see that they had been defeated when they saw the state of the cats that remained in the western garrison, and when Cat F lamented that her house had been lost and she likely would not be able to return to it. Some of the cats panicked, but most secretly bared their claws, wanting to launch an all-out assault against the invaders. But most knew that against such numbers, it would certainly fail, and there was no one willing to lead such an attack.

With Cat P denying the whole thing had ever happened, Cat K had to step forward and take control, even if only for the time being.

He knew an attack would be suicide at this point, as the enemy forces were simply too many in number to fight in the field. Instead he obliged the gang to secure what territory it had, and to try to stop the further loss of territory to his sworn enemy.

He also knew the bunny brigade was waiting for the right moment to attack, and that the revolutionaries in the organization might also take advantage of the moment. But at least in the latter case, his temporary leadership seemed to placate them. At least for the time being.

Cat T suggested making a defensive stand just behind the deceased Cat T2's (see prior message) owner's house, as that area had been abandoned after the incident and was currently overrun by both small animals and dogs. Cat F agreed, both felt the enemy cat gang would be weakened by dog attacks and they might be able to break through their lines if they formed up all the defenders they had at that one point. Cat K gathered up every cat that was willing to follow him, roughly fifty in all, and they headed out to a point a few hundred feet to the southwest of their deceased comrade's owner's house.

They're starting to come out, please give it some time and be patient, these things take time.

---

(continued from the previous post)

With the defensive troops massing at the point behind Cat T2's owner's house, Cat T, whose skills included running fast and insulting others, proceeded into the area and ran around, trying to provoke the dogs and other animals into running after him. Few offered much of a response, dogs barked and growled but otherwise largely ignored the cat.

With all his troops massed, Cat K organized his followers into an arrowhead formation and instructed them to charge, in formation, on his command. The ears of the cats of the massive X gang appeared over the horizon, followed by their heads, and the rest of their bodies. Only then were their full numbers evident, truly massive, well organized lines that outnumbered Cat K's troops at least five to one. Once they saw the defenders, they started charging for their position, taking the bait.

Cat T had finally attracted the attention of a doberman, a weiner dog, and a few pugs that were chasing after him, but every time they caught up, he would gain a burst of speed and outrun them. Once the dogs realized that a huge army of cats was approaching, they stopped in their tracks and started to bark profusely, Cat T then stopped and started to egg them on.

Mass chaos followed. Dogs started attacking the many cats, and some even say that Cat T infiltrated the lines of the X gang and continued to insult and provoke the dogs in relative safety. Fighting was brutal, the dogs coming in waves of roughly ten to twenty, animals on both sides perished and reserve troops rushed to fill gaps in the X gang's lines. The battle raged for minutes, with the gang's troops pinned down but holding their own due to their numbers and organization.

When it was obvious that the dog assault was not going to break the X gang's lines alone, and Cat K realized they were starting to taper off, Cat K ordered his troops to charge into the fray and try to pierce the X gang's lines right down the center, which would break it into two if the attempt were successful. As soon as there was a lull in the fighting, Cat K's forces charged in, though outnumbered their morale was high and they were fresh versus the X gang's cats that were tired out from the prolonged dog assault.

The fighting was fierce, and cats on both sides fell, some even to their own, as it became difficult to tell friend from foe in the chaos. The neighborhood cat gang was holding its own, but after about a minute of fighting, both forces had around twenty cats perish which cut the neighborhood gang down by about a third. The X gang's reserve troops were running out, and at one point their lines were breached for a few seconds before reserve troops rushed to fill the gap. It was then that Cat K heard distant barking, getting closer, so he ordered his cats to disperse and retreat back to their original meeting place.

When the neighborhood cat gang forces re-assembled, they were now roughly thirty in all and stood firm, ordered by Cat K to form up in a defensive line. Their enemies had fought off what was apparently the last wave of dogs, and began advancing on their position. But seeing that they were still heavily outnumbered, almost three to one, he ordered a strategic retreat.

Cat T questioned Cat K's orders, asking him why he was retreating when the X gang's forces were tired and nearly broken. Cat K answered that there were still too many cats and that their best option was to retreat to the headquarters and mount a defense there, joined by all the cats who claimed allegiance to the gang, not just those who were willing to follow him onto the battlefield.

The retreat was uneventful.

When the cats returned to their headquarters, Cat T found Cat P lying upside down, paws up, on the one remaining couch. Vomit littered the ground, the smell of which was profuse. He insisted he was sick, and would be unable to participate in the upcoming battles.

Cat K summoned all the other cats at the base, explained their current situation, and attempted to rally them for what he admitted could well be the 'final battle' of the gang. Most were not swayed, one large faction of cats abandoned the gang, mewing repeatedly while getting up and walking out. Others seemed indifferent, several were preoccupied with the foam from a couch pillow that had come out of its cover and a couple of others with a catnip toy.

There was some initial disagreement of what to do in preparation for the battle, Cat K wanted to rig the headquarters with traps and ultimately sabotage it to cause as much damage as possible to the enemy; but most of the other cats were more attached to the building and not willing to sacrifice it as a tactic. Cat K tried to explain that this was it for the gang, if they lost this battle, their choices were to try to escape to the south or stay and be hunted down by the gang who would stop at nothing to kill them all. Many of the other cats that were not directly loyal to him were indifferent and a number abandoned the gang within the next hour or so. In all, Cat K had about 55 cats behind him for the defense, and he knew a significant percentage of those would leave if it looked like the battle was going poorly.

---

I don't recommend that place, honestly it kinda sucks for those kinds of shots. The direction of the coast is off, so the sun sets not behind the water but behind the long beach skyline; not to mention the ugly offshore oil rigs, tankers, and other mining equipment that are visible off the coast. From a beach standpoint it is not too great either, the slope is so steep that the surf is very short; the waters are often infested with sharks, stingrays, and jellyfish, due to the warm currents, and so on.

---

In the time leading up to the battle, Cat T and a few others including Cat F, Cat C, tried to get Cat P up but he only laid there with his paws up in the air insisting he was sick. Cat K was seen practicing what was apparently some kind of martial art, mewing as loud as he could while leaping around and scratching at air as if he was attacking imaginary enemies. Some other supporters of the gang, Snake Z and one of his friends (another snake) and a few others, took turns standing on a podium and giving motivation speeches to try to rally the cats and raise their morale. Cat Y, largely a pariah to the gang, as well as a few others appeared to join the battle; with Cat P largely incapacitated, Cat K was more than willing to accept any cat who would help out.

After a very tense few hours, Cat T, who was serving as lookout on the roof, sounded the alarm. He had counted over 150 ears[1] in the distance, and quickly left the roof and yelled down to the defenders to prepare for combat. On his way down from the roof, Cat T passed Cat F who had an idea for a tactic that might be useful as the battle began.

"Cat P is grossly overweight, easily weighing as much as several normal cats or possibly more. He's also extraordinarily lucky, or has survived many times when his death should have been all but guaranteed. Help us take him up onto the roof and throw him down onto the enemy while they advance in tight formation! We can probably stun or disable about ten or fifteen cats this way. A worthwhile sacrifice! After this, our forces charge out of the building is a surprise lighting strike, taking advantage of the chaos to kill as many of the enemy as possible before retreating back into the building before the enemy can respond!"

Cat T was against the idea from the beginning, and told her it was unacceptable and that he wonders what Cat P would do if he knew she was plotting such an act. But he had little say in the matter, Cat F had already gathered some of her loyal male followers as well as her close friend Cat C and even Cat Y, who purred and mewed as if to taunt him (Cat T) with the idea.

As the clutter[1] broke into Cat P's office, Cat T could only listen to his cries as he asked them what was going on or what they were doing. "Ignore his desperations! This is for the good of all of us!", mewed Cat F, and the other cats complied. They lugged him up the stairs to the roof as the other cats prepared for battle. Cat K already knew the plan, and seemed really psyched up. "When Cat P impacts the enemy army, that's the signal! Break out! Strike like lightning! Once the enemy realizes what is going on, they might start to fight back -- that is the signal to retreat! Get back inside and get ready to defend!"

Cat T tried one last time to convince the group that it was a dumb plan, calling it an uninspired, copycat tactic that had been overused in the past and it was unlikely the enemy would fall for it. But Cat Y insisted it was a perfect plan, this was a new enemy that the gang had never come into conflict with before, so it was likely they would be unaware of past tactics used as few enemies who had fought the gang in the past had lived to tell the tale.

Yes, according to Mikey that was part of the work of the Black Bunny Squad. Several rats in the area were found to be sympathizers of the neighborhood cat gang, sell-outs who would regularly turn in other rats in exchange for protection. The squad captured these rats, and as punishment the notorious Lop, "Mad Doc" Mele, injected them with massive amounts of caffeine to the point where they were 'spazzing out', and then let them loose in the area around the gang's headquarters. Forward scouts reported that the rats were caught after a long chase, and a portion were given to Cat P as part of his 'cut'. Cat P is said to have eaten all the rats at the same time, and like most cats, no doubt suffered adverse effects from the large amount of caffeine injected into the rats.

From Mikey, "It's a controversial tactic, but this is the Black Bunny Squad we're talking about. They've got a reputation to live up to. As for Cat P, it's another time that his extreme obesity might have saved his life. Many more nimble or in-shape cats may have perished with that much caffeine in their system."

---

The clutter carried Cat P onto the roof and walked over to the side where the gang was bearing down on them. Cat P begged them to stop one last time, but his mews were ignored and they waited for the right moment to throw the oversized feline over the side of the wall, dropping him on the mass of the troops below.

As the enemy approached the headquarters, their field commander gave the order to charge and the ran in unison, the fur on their back standing straight up and with teeth and claws bared. Cat F knew the moment had to be timed right, she told everyone to get ready and started counting down when the cats were about 15 meters away from the edge of the structure. When she finished counting down, the cats tossed Cat P high into the air, at a slight arc so he would fall over the side of the roof and then started running back for the stairs down.

On the ground, Cat K and the others stood ready and waited for the signal to rush out and attack their enemy. It wasn't long before the oversized form of Cat P appeared in their field of view, the enemy appeared largely unaware of their impending doom. Some of them heard the yells and looked up at the last minute, but had no way to get out of the way of the cat.

With a loud thud, Cat P hit the ground, crushing all or part of several cats in the process. He continued to roll forward, knocking a few more cats down in his path. The side door swung open, and Cat K led the charge of about two dozen cats that rushed out to engage the enemy.

The maneuver was a success, as the cats led by Cat K attacked the dazed and downed cats and quickly clawed them to death. Cat T also charged out and into the fray, but rather than trying to fight, he went straight for the limp body of Cat P and started dragging him back toward the door. By then, the enemy had closed ranks and begun to fight back, so all the attackers pulled back except for Cat T. He was pounced on by the enemy, and fought back as best as he could while still holding onto Cat P's motionless body. Heavily outnumbered, he went down.

Now enraged by the smell of blood of the fallen cats, the enemy cats had their hair stand up straight and began to attack the door. Other cats went for the window, shattering it with an impromptu battering ram made from a large tree branch. The door held, at least for the time being, but with the window gone, enemy cats began to pour into the headquarters.

Cat K himself ran to defend the window, but it was hopeless. Cats poured in faster than they could be pushed back; in the time it took for him to jump on the back of one cat and tear it to shreads, two or three more cats would pile through the window and begin to surround him so he would have to retreat. As the enemy poured in through the window, the door was also forced open and the enemy army started to pour into the room. Battle was joined, the defenders tried to hold their ground at first, with claws, blood, cats hissing with hair standing on end, neither side willing to submit, both determined to fight it out to the death.

Cat F's ears perked up and she realized what was going on -- the enemy had broken open the front door and other entrances and were charging into the building from every directions. She mewled loudly to the other cats, roughly a third of the gang's force, in that back room; telling Cat K and the others who fought by his side that they had better pull back soon or they risked getting surrounded. Cat K understood, and the three leaders, she, Cat K, and Cat C, and the cats who followed them who could still move fought to disengage and back off out of the room. As they backed into the hallway, Cat K held the rear, continuing to face toward the abandoned room, hissing loudly, and attacking any cat that came too close. This alone wasn't enough to stop their advance, but it at least bought some time for the retreating force to make it to the central stairs that were the only way to the second floor.

The cats were joined by what remained of the other defensive lines, the snake Z and his friend, Cat Y, and several others. Their numbers had severely dwindled; in all, only around 30 remained. Cat K took charge, ordering all the cats upstairs and then setting up a tight defensive formation on the landing, and ordering the two snakes to hang over the side over the stairs and prevent any cats from climbing up the side of the stairs to flank them at all costs.

The ruckus downstairs continued, presumably as the enemy was cleaning up any last pockets of resistance. Battle was not joined for another minute, the enemy had regrouped and now charged up the stairs, most cats taking the more direct route while a few tried to climb up the side.

The gang's front line held, the enemy tried push them back, but gravity was working against them. Several of their cats fell in the process, their bodies causing a logjam that bogged down their advance. Two cats from the gang also perished, but they were quickly replaced as reservees stepped forward. As for the cats climbing up the side, one was bitten both snakes in sync, their teeth sinking in before they both pulled back, pulling the victim up but also rending him a bit more. He mewed in terror, trying to claw the snakes as they continued to shake his body around, eventually clawing snake Z's friend but was forced to lose his grip on the wall by doing so. With this both snakes released him, and he fell down to the floor below, bleeding profusely from the two bite wounds. Likely realizing a similar fate awaited them, the other enemy cats who were attempting to climb the side of the stairs quickly abandoned their efforts.

Now the enemy commanders were ordering an all-out frontal assault, probably hoping that they could win due to simple attrition. Cat F was standing at the top of the stairs and her team had gathered several heavy items, a fire extinguisher, remnants of some desktop computers destroyed in the last sabotage incident, and so on. She and Cat C dropped them onto the enemy formation, crushing many cats in the process and creating such a logjam of obstacles that an unimpeded frontal assault was no longer possible.

Several more of the enemy fell before their commanders probably realized it was fruitless. Their morale was starting to sag, and rather than risk dissension in the ranks, they ordered an orderly retreat and started to pull back from the stairs. Some of the cats in the gang wanted to rush them, but Cat K held them back, knowing they would still be overwhelmed by their numbers if they fought in the field.

Once the enemy had retreated, the cats filtered back out into their headquarters, the lower level largely ruined by the battle. Their fallen brethren were strewn across the floor, intermixed with the corpses of the enemy which they had not bothered to collect on the way out. The cats went around and tested to see if any of their own were still alive; most were not, but managing to revive a few. Outside, Cat P was still moving, rolling around in pain, more like it, and Cat T still had a pulse but had several obviously broken bones and had likely fainted due to the shock.

In the aftermath, Cat T was taken to the vet by his owner and had to be put in a full body cast. Cat P somehow managed to survive practically unscathed, and the next day he was alive and feeling well again, loudly bragging about the glorious battle in which he single-handedly fought off sixteen of the enemy and turned the tide in favor of the neighborhood gang. Most of the cats ignored him, but a few kiss-ups nodded along with him and played along, probably expecting some future favor in return.

While the neighborhood cat gang was able to mount a successful defense, and hence guarantee their own survival, less than 30 cats remained in the gang. The gang was effectively confined to their own headquarters, and short of the X gang retreating in the field, there was no way they would be able to reclaim the large swath of territory that they once held.

---

Just listen, like I keep telling people irl, don't get too bent out of shape yet. "A lot of the people (from ALA/PMX) resigned because of him" -- I've heard that from two sources now. I can't say I blame them, but I don't recommend that either. Their big problem right now is personnel. They just don't have enough.

Cat P has to be re-elected within the next month or so. I'd expect he will be, for a number of reasons. But this isn't the bunny caucus we're talking about. Elections among cats are often times chaotic, bloody, and unpredictable. I think I already said it, but some cats get more than one vote, and many cats get no votes at all. It all depends on who's scared of who or who's willing to stand up to who.

In past years, there's been between 100 to 150 cats who, at least on paper, could vote. And in the end, about 20-25 votes would be cast, by under 10 cats in total.

How exactly does it work? There's a line up that forms, at the front of the line, the cat steps forward and says he votes for so-an-so. The crowd either accepts the vote, or challenges it by rushing up and attacking him. If the vote is accepted, it is tallied; if a fight ensues; if the voter wins, his vote is tallied, if he loses, runs away, or such, it is forfeit. If there's a fight, cats can also join in on behalf of the voter, mass fighting can result.

Cats can get in line to vote many times. The process goes on until no one wants to stand in line anymore. This process typically doesn't take longer than an hour.

Snake Z and some others of note, their positions are also up for a vote this cycle. It'll be interesting to see how these turn out.

---

Now, it was obvious to the thirty-or-so cats that remained in the gang that they were in dire straits. Confined to their headquarters, unable to vernture out due to the enemy gang still being in the field to the north, and Samantha's two hundred strong bunny brigade to the south, lying in wait, the gang got ready for a long siege. Cat K tried to give a motivational speech, "We're all in this together" type, but even that could not raise the morale. Funds were already at critically low levels, food supply would likely only last a day or two, and accommodations were pretty bad as the lower level had suffered a lot of battle damage and the upper level had never really recovered from the bunny bunny brigade raids during the death of Cat T2 incident.

The cats agreed to have an open planning meeting, more of an 'all claws' discussion about their next action. Cat K went over the details of their crisis, their limited supply of cat food -- he figured they could probably make it three days on half rations -- while Cat P insisted he had been preparing for this moment his whole life and could survive a month or more. Cat P made the case that they should try to break out through the south, taking revenge against the bunny brigade for the death of Cat T2 in the process. But Snake Z and others were against this, they feared the bunny brigade's numbers and felt it was best to try to wait out the siege. Cat F brought up that the enemy gang was likely not equipped for a long siege -- lacking their own food and hence would have to either forage for food in the city or quickly establish their own supply teams to handle logistics. She believed that they could foil this if they could somehow sneak out or bypass the siege -- however this was easier said than done.

Several minutes were spent brainstorming for a way to sneak past the siege, but none of the cats came up with any bright ideas. Cat P mentioned the hurler, but most of the other cats gave him silent stares in response while a few hissed. Finally Cat K came up with the idea of smuggling out a team in the garbage. Since the garbage pickup was tomorrow, his plan would be to hide themselves among some trash and then ride along inside the garbage truck to the dump. It was a risky plan, and unpopular, but he found a few volunteers. They would hide themselves in an old file cabinet to avoid being crushed or injured and then once the garbage was dumped, try to find the enemy supply routes and disrupt them.

---

We really don't know much, honestly we just found out about this a few days ago.

1) It could be false. Honestly I find it hard to believe a cat like that is married. You can lie on facebook, I mean, people do that all the time.

2) I ran it by Mikey and the others, the general consensus would be Cat A. Seems to make the most sense.

3) Samantha pointed out that it may not be a girl, or even another cat. "This is California, after all. Pretty much anything goes."

---

Cat K knew the mission was risky, but it wasn't on the level of suicide and his volunteers were very well motivated. Not only would they disrupt enemy supplies, but they would acquire food in the process -- food that would soon be in extremely short supply and desperately needed by the other gang members.

The next day, the cats hid themselves in the discarded file cabinet, which was picked up by the garbage truck. The ride to the dump took several hours, far longer than expected, but was otherwise uneventful. Under severe duress from the stench, the cats found themselves in a dump that was several miles south (roughly) of the city center. It was a dangerous area, and one that had not been under their control for at least several months.

Fortunately the file cabinet laid on its side, and the cats were able to force the drawers open and emerged from it.

It's because around 9-13 or 9-14 they (youtube and some other sites) changed how they did streaming. If you don't believe me, enable firebug plugin and view a youtube video at 480p resolution (or less) when flash is enabled. You can also use a cache viewer or some other method.

Notice how .flv files now come in as a bunch of 1.7mb chunks. They used to be one big file.

Fortunately, .mp4 files (the default when flash is enabled for resolutions 720p, 1080p) still come as a single large file. While most of the automated tools to download these are broken now, you can still use firebug to grab these.

So, this is what I recommend now:First, get the firebug plugin for youtube. Set it up: "Enable for all web pages" and "Enable All Panels". Set the "Net" panel, and then all.

If your video is 720p or 1080p: Ensure flash is enabled (Add-ons from the firefox menu. Go to Plugins and see "Shockwave Flash"). Go ahead and view your video. In firebug, "Clear", then reload the page, then quickly select the resolution and it may be necessary to scroll the video slider to the very beginning. In firebug, sort the file list by size until you see a large file (typically in the 30-120mb range) come to the top. You don't need to wait for the video to download completely. Right-click on the "URL" column of that file, choose "Open in new tab". You'll get the option to save, typically as videoplayback or videoplayback.mp4 (the extension should be .mp4, if it's nothing make sure you set it).

If your video is 480p or less: For newer videos (as of about a year ago), if you disable flash, youtube will switch to webm format. So this also works for 720p or 1080p files, if you want a .webm file instead of a .mp4. Now follow the same process as above, finding the large file (typically in the 5-50mb range) only this time, the file opens up in its own video window (actually tab). Right click on the video, and select Save Video As. The default name is something like videoplayback.webm.

Other notes:

Firebug is annoying and slows things down, so disable it when you aren't using it.

.webm support seems pretty good these days, at least better than a few years ago. Media player classic plays it fine, at least. I wouldn't shy away from the format because it seems like open and patent-free is the way things are going, with html5 video and such.

Once you make youtube switch to .webm, it stores this as a cookie and won't switch back even if you re-enable flash (remember they're google now, and google is the main force behind webm format). So, clear the cookie to make it go back to using flash.

Hopefully the different download tools will get fixed in time, but it could be tricky. I tried downloading all the 1.7mb chunks of the .flv file individually (or saving them from the cache) and binary copying them together, but something is still wrong, it still doesn't play.

BTW, if you don't mind disabling flash, and using webm files, a lot of the automated download tools still work ("Video Downloadhelper" for instance, google it) for videos uploaded in the last year or so. Use it to download a .flv file, and you either get a 0mb or 1.7mb file that doesn't play. Use it to download a .mp4 and you typically get a 0mb file. But if you disable flash, choose the resolution you want, and then download, you'll see one or two options to download as a .webm file. Choose the most recent one of these and you can successfully download a .webm file.

Also, apparently the VDH guys are hard at work fixing it, so a new version will hopefully be released soon that works.

---

When the cats emerged from the discarded file cabinet, they had no idea where they were. Cat K's hair stood on end as he smelled danger downwind, probably a stray dog or something like that. Some of the cats wanted to fight, but K reminded them that their mission was more important, they needed to take the enemies supplies and return alive.

Before they even figured out where they were, it didn't take long for the several cats to attract the attention of several herds of small animals who lived in the junkyard where they were dumped. Mostly just rats, but K ordered his troops not to chase and instead to start moving, figuring that some were probably scouts for the resistance[1] and might summon the dogs. They kept their discipline, at least for the time being.

Leaving the dump, the cats were able to place themselves in east downtown, which was far to the north of their headquarters. K was praised for his troops for being right in his assessment, that they would be taken to one of the main garbage dumps in the slummy and dilapidated east part of town. The cats radioed into their base to report status, Cat F was elated that their plan was going well, Cat P tried to 'take control' from afar but Cat K cut him off.

Cat K and his team started heading south, trying to get closer to the entrapment line and it was then that they came across a developing altercation between a couple of cats. Three cats had surrounded a stray, it was at the stare-down stage but all the cats had their hair standing on end and no one looked like he was going to back off. K knew that a fight was the next logical step, and at first his instincts told him to simply move on and avoid them, but then he decided it might be of some use and that they should intervene. At first his troops doubted his order, but he explained that the stray would be indebted to them if they saved him, and would likely be able to help them out on their mission or at least share some knowledge about the area.

[1] During its recent years of decline, the cat gang had lost large swaths of its territory as small animals revolted, refusing to pay for protection and such. Efforts by the cats to crack down on this behavior were countered by a number of dogs, presumably employed by the small animals, that would show up and scare off all the cats.

---

I wouldn't read too much into it. He was (is) probably just busy that day. They need everyone they can get, and he's one of the few left who can run or lead anything. Without his expertise, they're basically done. BTW as of 9/25 he will be there, I honestly believe it was pretty much a given from the beginning.

Sticking to the gang's tradition of charging money for everything, Cat P's original plan was to charge everyone for food, prices would be (at the current exchange rate) approx. 4 carrots for a burger or hot dog with extras like ketchup, onions, mayonnaise, being approx. 1 carrot apiece. However the snake Z pointed out that the park's rules prohibited this, and P would likely end up ejected from the park if he did this. So the plan was changed, now the food will be free but limited to one per person. (pre-9/26)

I still recommend avoiding their food at all costs, this is Cat P and he's likely to put something nasty in it. It's just not worth it if you value your life. (pre-9/26)

FYI Cat R was a senior member of the gang going back at least several years. Around 2010 he became Cat L's chief of security, and became hated by other cats in the gang as well as small animals due to his fervent support of Cat L. After the departure of Cat L, the other cats basically chased him out of the gang, forcing him to resign.

On Cat P's "waifu", there is no definitive intelligence on this. (9/28)

From Mikey - "(Cat) A? I know what you're thinking, but I don't think so. The whole thing just doesn't make sense. I mean, he's on the way down, and a pretty cat like her, she has to know she can do better than him." (9/28)

From Samantha - "Apparently the marriage was a pretty low-key affair. Some within the gang say that he was constantly siphoning money from the gang's funds to buy her 'gifts', but no one ever saw or heard from this mystery cat, most wrote it off as a fantasy of his." (9/28)

---

He was a no-show. I don't give them much today, their logistics department is gutted and their morale is very poor. As a whole, the gang is heavily factionized making teamwork or shared effort between certain members simply impossible. Some cats, like Cat R, are heavily isolated, they may still be members of the gang, but they are pariahs and all the other cats stay away from them.

A former infiltrator and known enemy appeared, the cat who infiltrated the gang and caused the 'K incedent' in July. He was able to escape capture by the gang then, and did the same this time. They're simply incompetent. If a known enemy can show up in gang territory, smack in the middle of roughly 12 cats, taunt them, and evade capture / death, then they barely even have business calling it a gang anymore.

From Mikey - "The cat (name unknown) was nothing special. He wasn't one of ours, he was just looking out for himself. The 'K incident' was just lunacy, he didn't gain anything from it. Perhaps he was an agent of the X gang? But even that incompetent escaped unscathed, twice even."

---

It looked like things were going to get violent very soon, so cat K ordered his followers to charge. Being in excellent shape himself, he was able to lead the charge while his followers struggled to keep up. The ruckus caused the thugs to turn and face him, they quickly froze and looked at each other for an instant before running. The stray made no attempt to run, and thanked cat K for saving him.

Cat K insisted that he help them out in return, and asked if he had seen a large advance of cats or anything like that. He said no, he didn't see it, but he had heard that a large group had passed several miles to the west. With that, Cat K and his followers started to head in that direction, keeping a notably low profile.

It wasn't long before Cat K noticed a pair of dobermans was after them, and closing in fast. Some of his followers wanted to make a run for a nearby tree, but Cat K knew that time was of the essence that this would likely delay the mission by hours at least. Instead he ordered them forward, in the general direction of the dogs but to one side where he had spotted a fence with a hole small enough for a cat to fit through.

The cats moved quickly this time, knowing their own lives depended on it. The dobermans also charged, and made it to the fence when all but one of the cats had crossed it. As the last cat went across, one of the dobermans lunged and bit for him, catching his tail and then pulling back. The other cats grabbed his body and tried to pull him through, digging into the ground able to overpower the doberman due to their numbers, but the dog's jaw was locked down on the cat's tail and he had no intention of letting go. Fortunately for the cats, Cat K moved to the side and stuck a paw through the gate, clawing into the doberman's snout and pulling in before releasing.

---

Unfortunately there is something rather serious (and private) going on in her life, so she won't be able to make it. The operation is not cancelled, there are two others who are still able to lead the operation.

Please don't expect me to be there, some of my friends are going to be elsewhere and there is a bit of a time conflict. Also it's logistically pretty difficult for me to get to the north side. I participate in what I can but that doesn't mean I can always be there.

---

I heard this rumor too, just this last weekend in fact. I honestly pretty much doubt it, I mean, that's basically akin to declaring war and talking about doing something like that and actually doing it are two different things. And it honestly wouldn't be a war that any side could win, sure the bear has some detractors and they can try to work around him, disrupt and go after his power base, try to get the cops involved or whatever, but it's almost guaranteed to hurt them more than him or his gang.

---

Blood was drawn, and the doberman let go, freeing himself up from having to hold onto the cat. The cat that had been trapped quickly squirmed through, one doberman tried to fit through the hole but couldn't get much beyond his snout through, the others charged the fence repeatedly before standing up on his hind legs and crashing into it. The cats quickly scurried into the front yard and from there were able to cross into a backyard and up a ledge to leap another fence and continue to the west.

The rest of the trip was rather uneventful, the cats managed to keep a low profile and passed little more than an occasional small animal, squirrel, or the like out in the open.

It was then that the cats came across a gruesome sight, three cats which had apparently been bludgeoned repeatedly to the point that their faces and bodies were contorted beyond recognition. One appeared to have what was left of a radio on him, badly damaged beyond all hope of repairing it; another what was left of a keychain, chewed into bits with most of the keys missing, and the third a trashed smartphone. Not knowing what to think, Cat K and the others paused briefly to investigate before pressing onward.

"Voting" began late Tuesday (Oct. 30) night. The battles went on throughout the night and are expected to last well into Halloween.

The only report I have from the inside is from one cat who insisted "This is much more combat than is normal... seriously... this could take days."

This one is totally up in the air, Cat P has lost much among his supporters in the recent gang wars, and who will stand and fight with him now? One of his rivals will likely prevail, but then he may get lucky and be able to take advantage while they fight among each other, believing he is already dead.

Samantha reported that C's forces are on the move, perhaps looking for an opening created by the whole affair. "But I doubt they can do much, C doesn't have much in the way of followers anymore."

---

I don't have much to add. From Mikey: "We got a report from one of our cats about this. It's brief, but to the point." "~Zs vote !!! con BJ, D _! J!", more precisely,"~(snake)Zs vote !!! con[tested]. B[attle is] J[oined], D[efense] _[barely]! J[oined]!"

From Mikey: Reports do confirm heavy fighting around that period, and without any further contact, every reason to believe the infiltrator perished in the battle. On a more positive note, Snake Z did manage to escape largely unscathed. No idea if he still has a position in the gang, or wants anything to do with it to begin with.

Oh and by the way, we certainly don't have any other infiltrators in the upper echelon.

I don't know how the other votes went right now, so stop asking. No idea if Cat P managed to preserve his standing or fell. For all we know he could be dead.

Something does seem to be up, I mean, all the usual channels seem to have gone silent.

---

I went over all the data last night. Most useful to reconstructing the timeline was the notes compiled by Samantha [1].

As the snake delivered his platform, there was little contest or opposition. It looked like he would prevail without much contest. At the end of his spiel, five cats stood in support, none in opposition.

First on the timeline is Mikey, who is pretty sure he heard repeating hissing from Cat P. Most of the pigs do recall hissing sounds at that time, but non-distinctive. Mikey, who has fought engaged Cat P in close-quarters combat in the past, is pretty certain the hissing came from Cat P.

Extensive hissing and high growls followed, accompanied with patters. This was around the time that the above communication was received by the informant. Battle was joined, reports are the Cat P led roughly 10 supporters, outnumbering the snake's defenders around 2:1.

Combat was relentless, with a lot of claw slashing, some biting, and plenty of thuds. More cats are presumed to have joined in, either the snake had some latent support, or perhaps the revolutionaries saw this as a good chance to take out Cat P. This helped to even out the odds. Close-quarters combat continued for around 14 seconds.

Mikey reports hearing Cat P yell something like "Yaaa!" at this point. It's believed the snake was getting away or escaping, and this was Cat P ordering his followers to turn their attention to him.

A couple of his followers charged the snake, but were quickly outflanked by his supporters. The snake managed to escape, largely unscathed. After his escape, the combat largely subsided. About 10 seconds later, it was silent, perhaps because it took that long for the rest to realise the snake was no longer there.

It should also be noted that Cat P's status is unknown. He may have been injured in the action against the snake, or lost too many supporters, costing him his own position in the gang.

[1] Small animals like bunnies, pigs, have very sensitive hearing. The brigade has two scouting companies, a field company of bunnies and an urban company of pigs, the latter was used extensively in this operation.

---

At this point, we have every reason to believe that Cat P prevailed, since he is still alive and seems to be doing okay.

One of our insiders reported "I saw the fatty (Cat P) today. He was a bit scuffed up from the election, but still very much alive and kickin'. He was rambling on about getting together a search party to hunt down the snake, whining about what a travesty it was that he had evaded capture (and certain death) despite losing the election."

Cat P may be in charge uncontested now, but it's unlikely the gang can function financially with no significant territory left and no financial expertise.

From Mikey, "The snake was either a genius in the futures market, or extraordinarily lucky. Without him handling the financial side of things, the gang will likely be back in the red, their days could be numbered based on that alone. Cat P needs to find someone else to take over the financial side, another miracle worker because that's what it's gunna take to keep the gang afloat with so few outside resources.

I can't comment much more, but I'll say one last thing. In general, the battles this year were much more brutal. In prior years, it would be something like, 10 cats in support, 10 cats against. They fight it out while 80+ cats look on. Last week, it was more like 30 or 40 cats fighting it out over each candidate. The number of cats that were getting involved in the fights was much greater. And most of the fights favored the supporters. The cats did show some good sense in one case, Cat W was defeated by a narrow margin and perished a few hours later.

Replacing Cat M (who defected from the gang roughly 3 cat years ago), the snake, and Cat W, Cat P filled the vanguard with three of his cronies.

It looks like the revolutionaries never had a chance, or they missed it. Their numbers were much greater before the struggle with the X gang, in fact some of the defectors like Cat M feel that Cat P engineered the whole thing with a self-facilitated purge in mind. Doing such a thing certainly isn't out of his league.

I do expect the gang will make one last major push before sputtering out. Cat P knows he needs to re-capture territory if he is to survive, he will take the newly formed vanguard and try to push out.

---

This is what I know of at the time.

1) A while ago (roughly 2 to 3 cat years) the gang tried to launch an attack to the south using an affiliate that they had recently allied themselves with. There were some initial signs of success, as the initial detachment of roughly 20 cats tried to secure as much area as possible north of the city center. Their significant income, roughly 400,000 carrots annual helped to reinforce morale, but a lot of the cats had misgivings when it came to Cat P or the neighborhood cat gang in general. In two cat years, almost half their cats defected, leaving the attack force at only 10 cats. The black bunny squad is working to ensure further defections, the alliance has only a 50/50 chance of surviving for another year, if that.

2) After successfully defending their headquarters from an all-out assault around two cat years ago, the enemy tried to lay siege but was unable to keep their supply lines up having lost their supply vehicles. With their retreat, the gang has since been fighting to recover its territory to the north of its base, but their efforts are haphazard and they lack competent field commanders. Patrols are often disrupted by dog attacks and they seem unable to quell a small animal rebellion in the immediate vicinity.

3) Around the end of September, a couple of unknown Pandas showed up and were let in by Cat P. It turned out the Pandas were mercenaries allied with the Black Bunny Squad. They quickly overpowered a few cats and intimidated any others into standing down, after which they proceeded to ransack the place and take whatever they wanted. In all, it's estimated they made off with roughly 800,000 carrots worth of assorted equipment. Asked why he let them in, Cat P insisted he thought they must have been there to deliver his "Mists of Pandaria" game that he had ordered from online.

---

We are actually pretty much in agreement. I won't say anything else on this topic.

And personally, I don't believe it will die off in the near term. It may be in decline, but decline does not equal death. In five to seven years, who knows what will happen. But in the short term, it will probably be at least okay.

Also, Cat P is reportedly trying to rally his troops to attack the small animal protectorate to the west. Not that has done him any bit of good. The last time the cats attacked the protectorate, of the twelve-or-so cats sent, only three returned (and they lost their top field commander at the time). Cats have been too terrified to participate in any attacks since then, as those who did return told tales of a large, "bigfoot - like" monster with immense strength that would rip cats in half or eat them whole.

---

But they found little else of note, so they continued to press on.

The similar scene was repeated, only this time even more extreme. In an abandoned parking lot, the remains of what must have been several cats were strewn around, among puddles of blood. The smell was pungent, and the other signs of battle seemed relatively fresh.

This was known as the 'elevator incident'.In the far corner of the gang's headquarters lies an elevator, it is nonfunctional and has not worked in years. The doors are stuck in the open position.

When the headquarters was attacked, she ran to the elevator and hid in the corner closest to the wall. At some point during the battle, a team of three enemy cats went into the elevator, thinking they would be able to take it to the top floor. They quickly noticed her and tried to threaten her, moving to surround her and then slowly advancing in order to keep her cornered.

At that point one of the gang's enforcers showed up and hissed, the three cats looked at the enforcer and noticed he was larger than them. Their numbers may have been still superior (3 vs. 2) but they weren't willing to risk a fight so they split and ran.

---

It was then that Cat K first smelled the bear. His hair instantly stood on end, and he stopped and froze. His eyes confirmed the sight, up ahead the fleet of wrecked supply vehicles, a bear had broken into one of the vans through the back window and was helping himself to the supplies. While Cat K recognized the smell from his days of training in the wilderness, his followers who had never left the city simply stood bewildered at the strange smell before they also froze and started to back off.

Regaining his composure, K mewled out the order to retreat while maintaining a tight formation. It was fruitless, his followers had panicked and quickly dispersed, running different directions. Fortunately, the bear seemed either unaware of their presence, or simply did not care; but at the same time bunnies began to pour out from two other ruined vehicles. The bunnies were heading out in groups, each group heading in different directions, as if in preparation to flank them.

Cat K knew he had a significant head start and could more than likely escape, but not wanting to leave his followers behind he ordered them to form up and get ready to fight the bunnies. Recognizing the bear did not pose any immediate danger, the cats rejoined formation and Cat K mewled out the orders to form up in a tight formation and punch through any bunnies that tried to stop their retreat. But he added, "If we get surrounded, form up in a tight circle to protect our backs."

More bunnies must have been waiting in ambush, for they appeared ahead of the retreating cats. Cat K paused to try to make sense of the events... Who could organize such a force -- commanding the bunnies and making them fight rather than turn and flee like bunnies normally do? Was the bear their leader, an ally, a paid mercenary, or something else? Cat K led his troops in an attempt to evade, but they matched his lateral movement and battle was joined.

The line of bunnies was two deep, and more than twenty bunnies in all. Cat K called for the circle formation right away, knowing it was only a matter of time before they would be surrounded. This tactic was successful at first, and several bunnies perished as the cats clawed and bit their adversaries. But it wasn't long before the bunnies in the back row started hopping, creating a mess of small furry animals flying in every direction. The confusion was too much for the cats, who found it difficult to dodge, attack, and maintain formation all at the same time.

A bunny had landed on the back of one of the cats and bit down with his teeth. He reached up to claw the bunny, but the teeth had already sunk in and the bunny had no intention of letting go. Another cats was knocked off his feet when a bunny landed in the middle of the circle and kicked him. He was kicked repeatedly by two other bunnies, despite his attempts to fight them off.

---

This is relatively recent, but to celebrate that the gang was no longer in severe debt (primarily the millions of carrots 'run up' under Cat L), Cat P threw a lavish and extravagant party at an expensive venue that went on for the whole weekend. While he gained some supported from doing so, in the end it was announced that the party had run up a significant debt of roughly a million baby carrots.

---

Cat K tried to run, knocking aside two bunnies as he charged through them, only to be faced by three more. He tried to fight, but was surrounded and fell. He managed to put his radio into continuous SOS mode before he lost consciousness.

Cat K and his team never returned from their mission. A few days later, the X gang's troops were pulled out. Scouts from the Bunny Brigade reported that their troops were near mutiny due to running out of supplies and that the commanders had little choice but to call for a timely retreat to maintain order. Cat P claimed responsibility for the victory, but it did not gain him much more support, as the truth was obvious to those who were not already following him.

About a month after the battle, the neighborhood cat gang received a ransom notice from the Black Bunny Squad. They claimed to have Cat K prisoner and wanted a sum of roughly (4 million baby carrots) in exchange for his safe return. Cat P refused the terms. Cat K has not been seen or heard of since.

Many people report seeing Cat P and I can verify that. He was there on Friday manning the [deleted]. His mini countryman[1] was spotted by numerous people at the scene. Also on Friday, there was another cat next to him whom I don't recognize, but definately one of Cat P's cronies. His title was "Programming Director", as for Cat P, he told multiple cats that he was "kinda running things". But in reality, that might have just been his ego speaking.

BTW few people feel good about [deleted] today. They have lost roughly 2/3rds of their active supporters and of those left, it is strained to the limit. Among the remaining cats, morale is especially bad.

[1] A small luxury "mini-crossover SUV", look it up on wikipedia.

---

According to an earlier "battle damage assessment", the vehicle was 'damaged beyond repair' during the battle with the X gang. However, the cat had it repaired anyway, at greater cost than simply obtaining a newer vehicle (likely more than 100,000 carrots). When asked to justify the cost to the treasurer, he cited sentimental value.

---

Yes, I heard about it, and there is no way. For starters, he will always claim responsibility _before_ acquiring something like that. If there wasn't a claim of responsibility, warning letter, or such; it's not him, frankly it's barking up the wrong tree.

In all honestly, it's probably Cat P because that cat refuses to be one of his cronies. No there isn't any proof there, not yet at least. But wait, because these things can take time to play out.

---

Numerous sources have reported that the purge is active and ongoing -- he is purging anyone who had any relations with (or in some cases, just knew) the snake Z. For instance, snake R, cat H, etc. Past purges have been undertaken with the intent of removing spies or tightening information security; this purge goes beyond simple paranoia. It is a vendetta against the snake and anyone who follows him.

Have no doubt that Cat P would kill the snake outright if he could, but with the reach of the gang severely limited, he simply isn't able to.

---

Yes, and I think the sarcasm is lost (missed) on some people. It was quite obvious to me that the comments on that topic were meant to be sarcastic.

---

Last weekend, a cat told me that Cat P wanted to charge him, as the host of the event, a protection fee. Starting at roughly equivalent to 1200 baby carrots, or more, depending on the size of his operation. Of course he didn't pay up, but it's the thought that counts.

Also over the weekend one of our bunnies reports that someone from the cat gang posted some photos of her on 4chan in an attempt to blackmail and ridicule her. In the end, no one really cared and it didn't have much effect. But again, it's the thought that counts.

It looks like the neighborhood cat gang is back up to its old tricks again. Or trying, at least.

---

From Mikey: "There was no actual meeting. They are down to only several supporters. There just aren't enough cats in the area to actually get anything done. Morale is poor and hopelessness has set in."

"Cat P is trying to augment their lack of personnel by bringing in his own cronies. But he is so far removed from his power base that he can't get many to follow him that far south."

"When they attempted to meet, three Pomeranians and a Maltese happened to be meeting in the room next door. All the local cats were freaked, they either didn't show up or showed up only briefly, running away after that. And Cat P wanted to fight them but couldn't convince anyone else to fight. So the meeting had to be put off and no one knows when they will make another attempt to meet.

---

Word is that today a single Pomeranian infiltrated the gang's headquarters.

"Cat P was taking delivery of a new deluxe coffee machine, he set down the box and opened it and a Pomeranian leapt out. Cat T, who was next to him, reports that he yelled and tried to turn to attack, but the Pomeranian was running circles around both of them while nipping at Cat P's rear legs repeatedly. Cat T tried to assist, but the dog was just too fast and he could not land a blow. After a few seconds of this assault, Cat P's rear legs gave out, he was disabled and collapsed to the ground, crying for help. Shortly after this the Pomeranian is said to have fled the scene."

"It was an off day, there were only around 10 cats at the warehouse, only three of which were trained in actual combat. The Pomeranian was able to make quite a ruckus, they tried to trap (him) to no avail and chased him throughout the complex. About five minutes later, (he) is reported to have made a getaway by going up onto the roof and leaping to the adjacent building. (His) actual objective at infiltrating the gang's headquarters and injuring Cat P is not known."

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I have no plans to sell it. I don't think it's worth the trouble. If I can find anyone willing to pay me (equiv. 4000 baby carrots) for one, I'd be glad to build one and send it out. But anything less, the answer is no.

The parts cost is roughly (equiv. 920 baby carrots) and it takes me roughly 8 hours of work to build one. If you want to build one yourself, I can demonstrate how (it's not too hard, just time consuming).

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I'm told that right now, their paranoia is at an all-time high. There is a massive and ongoing purge at all levels (and offshoots) which has been confirmed by many. And while it is having an effect on infiltration at the lower levels, it also crippling the gang. The purge is more than a third, by the time it is complete they will likely have purged around half their members.

"Cat P has gone totally rabid. He's systematically destroying the gang so that it can be remade in his image. Any cat that is even slightly suspected is removed instantly, and in the meantime, there is very little income available and cats to do anything at all. To him, enemies, real or imagined, lurk in every shadow; the snake is scheming for revenge, Cat K has been secretly working with the black bunny squad, etc."

Roughly 9 (cat) years ago, plus or minus 3 cat years, Cat P was approached by a representative of the near eastern[1] cat gang. This was back when the neighborhood cat gang still controlled significant territories to the north.

The representative of the near eastern cat gang proposed a deal. His gang wanted to gain a local foothold, but without any local territory, they had nowhere to land troops or any base to serve as a staging area. He proposed an alliance where cat P's neighborhood gang would allow them to use their territory as a staging area, attacking their enemies to the north and seizing their lands. Ultimately this would create a friendly northern neighbor which would allow the neighborhood cat gang to focus on securing its own territory and focus its expansion to the south in an effort to increase effectiveness.

Cat P like the idea behind this deal, for both these reasons. At the time, he was having to deal with strong rivals within his own gang, and he would rather focus on expanding to the south anyways. So the two agreed to meet "face to face" in order to finalize and sign off on the deal. However, at the meeting, Cat P showed up with two of his lawyers in tow as well as several advisers; the representative was still alone. The representative became irate at having to negotiate with lawyers and left without a deal in place. Cat P tried to threaten him on the way out, saying if anyone from his gang set foot anywhere even near the city, he would be decimated. But the representative just ignored his threats.

What did the near eastern cat gang do? They held off and waited for an opportunity. When the X gang attacked the neighborhood cat gang, they had that opportunity, and they invaded shortly after the X gang pulled back from its seige. They have since expanded farther to the north, even trampling over a few of Cat P's sworn enemies in the process. As for most of the gangs to the north that are enemies of the neighborhood cat gang, they seem to be coexisting with them.

From Samantha: "We (the bunny brigade) had no part in this operation. The failure was purely based on Cat P's stupidity."

From Mikey: "It's good that the alliance failed, I mean, we'd likely be fighting them if it hadn't. But then it is to be expected, [Cat P] knows nothing of diplomacy, he couldn't even negotiate his way out of a paper bag[2]. Instead we are just waiting to clean up what's left of the mess they made down here."

[2] refering to the "paper bag incident" long ago. When he was a kitten, Cat P got a paper bag stuck over his head and was having problems getting it off. His owner eventually took it off, but not before taking a video which was later posted to youtube.

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At this point it's really hard to say what the future is for them. I don't think it will fail, not yet, at least.

1) There are huge gaps in personnel that need to be filled.

2) It's not an 'open' organization. About half the cats out there don't want anything to do with anything associated with the neighborhood gang in the first place. On top of this, I have talked to many who tried applying and were denied.

Both these things combined means that Cat P has to support it using his own people.

3) At the rate things are going, we expect the neighborhood cat gang will last between three to six more years. Once the neighborhood cat gang goes away, even if it is followed or replaced by something else, Cat P will have lost his powerbase.

4) Cat P's ego may mean he will keep it going, and as long as he has a powerbase of supporters, he can do this. But once he loses that, it's done.

One final note, funds were never a problem before. But if it's run poorly, it might end up in the red.

I expect that something else will happen before that.

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I haven't seen her in years. Evidently she doesn't get out much (though I'm told she's still around).

From Samantha - "One of our bunnies reported a high certainty sighting about [a month] ago."

None of the people who know her from that time want anything to do with her anymore. And I think I know why (at least, one part of it).

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We have now all but confirmed that Cat H has defected from the gang's constantly shrinking local chapter.

From Mikey - "I can't say this will have [much of an effect]. He had several followers, but as a leader, he was far from effective. What little leadership qualities he had were overshadowed by some major flaws, like a tendency to over-dramatize everything or become extremely emotional and unable to lead due to the goings-on in his personal life."

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I have no idea what it is. I don't think it is a trap.

But, I'll make that judgement at the last minute.

I still don't know.

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From Mikey: That bunny (bunny V) is probably one of the most out-of-touch I know. Don't get me wrong, we still love her. We just ignore everything she says.

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Okay, I am NOT going.Mikey is pretty sure it is a trap.

From Mikey: "We have confirmed that Cat R is in the vicinity. That ruthless cat is known to be one of Cat P's cronies, among other things."